Comelec not targeting anti-Aquino partylist bets – poll exec

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday that it was not singling out any partylist group when it filed charges of campaign rule violation  against certain candidates as alleged by militant labor groups.

“It’s sad that that’s their impression, we have nothing against any partylist. We just want that they see we are serious in implementing the law,” law department director Esmeralda Ladra of the Comelec told reporters in an interview.

“We can’t choose who we will file charges against because we only base it on the violations that are reported to us,” she said.

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) on Monday held a protest rally in front of the Comelec head office saying that the poll body was working to disqualify partylists that are critical of President Benigno Aquino III’s administration.

“The Comelec is using its powers to work for the victory of administration bets in the elections and the defeat of candidates critical of the government,” Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general, said in a statement.

“While it is allowing elite and administration candidates to campaign freely, it is restricting partylists, especially progressive partylists, from putting up campaign posters,” Soluta said.

KMU cited the recent en banc hearings of partylists Piston, Kabataan, and LPG Marketers Association (LPGMA) who were charged with violating the rules on campaign posters.

Kabataan was charged for putting up campaign propaganda along the center island of Taft Avenue as well as banners and posters inside the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) campus.

Under Comelec resolution 9615, election campaign materials are prohibited from all public infrastructure and schools.

“With its restrictive poster rules, Comelec has already contributed to the marginalization of progressive partylists. Many partylist groups have held back in putting up their campaign posters because of what the Comelec is doing to Piston and Kabataan,” Soluta said.

Ladra however maintained that Comelec only acts on the reports they receive of campaign poster violations and that they do not target any particular partylist or candidate.

“We do not choose [who to file charges against],” Ladra said. If a candidate’s posters are not in the proper place or the proper size, then they violate the rules and they are sent legal notices to take down the offending posters.

“It’s not just against one partylist or two or three, even senatorial candidates get notices, even political parties receive them,” she said.

It was only if they still don’t put down the offending posters that appropriate charges would be filed. “They should not be waiting for notices in the first place,” Ladra said. They should already know the rules about campaign materials,” she added.

Some partylist groups, political parties and senatorial candidates had acknowledged the legal notices and promised to comply, Ladra said. Others say they ordered their supporters and coordinators to comply with the Comelec’s rules.

“We are thankful when it comes to these promises, but hopefully this won’t be empty promises,” Ladra said.